WIS, WWA | We joined BJ's!
What I Spent
Let's see. Mr. FG has been wanting to try a BJ's warehouse club membership, so when we got a $25/year offer in the mail, he took advantage of that.
So, $25 there.
He spent $36 there, mostly on mouthwash and shampoo, but also on a few food items. I still haven't gotten over to check it out, so I don't have an opinion on how it compares to Costco just yet!
And my grocery shopping was a quick $16 stop for a few items.
So, that means we are continuing our ridiculously low grocery spending for January. Can we keep it up for one more week??
January Grocery Spending
Week 1: $101
Week 2: $59
Week 3: $138
Week 4: $77
What We Ate
Saturday
(We budget $20/week, separate from our grocery budget, for a date night.)
Sonia and Zoe made flatbread pizzas for themselves, Lisey was at work, and Mr. FG and I got food from a local Italian place (gnocchi for me, pizza for him).
Sunday
(Our day to do takeout from a locally owned place, since restaurants are suffering right now. This is a temporary extra expenditure, not coming from our grocery budget.)
This week, we got takeout from a local place that mostly sells seafood. But they do also have chicken, which is what Zoe ordered.
I got a spicy shrimp and corn chowder, which was so good.
Monday
Sonia cooked! She made Swedish meatballs over noodles, which we ate with some fresh produce.
Tuesday
Zoe had been wanting fried chicken from Royal Farms, an east coast gas station chain (their chicken IS really good!) and I had enough gas points for a free bag of it.
So, I picked that up and made waffles, for a chicken and waffles meal.
Wednesday
I made a green salad to use up a bunch of random stuff:
- a partial bag of shrimp
- a small package of chicken
- various veggies
I hard-boiled some eggs to put on the salad as well.
Also, last time I made brioche rolls, I accidentally left the extra ones out overnight. Which made them quite dry.
So I cubed and froze them, and on Wednesday I used them to make a batch of homemade croutons to go with our main dish salad.
And, funnily enough, I made two loaves of fresh brioche to go with our salad. So it was sort of a double brioche night.
Thursday
I made hot turkey breast sandwiches with grapefruit and roasted carrots on the side.
(At first I wrote "roasted carrots and grapefruit" and I realized that sounded like I was roasting grapefruits. I do not, in fact, ever roast grapefruits.)
Friday
I plan to use some of the flatbreads (mentioned in this post) to make pizzas.
I must admit to jealousy of anyone with access to multiple warehouse-type stores. When we lived near enough one to go, we didn't have so many kids, nor were they the eating machines they are now. And now that I could really use one, we are way too far away. A
But I manage to feed everyone without that. 🙂 And how do I do it? Like this . . .
Friday: Curried chicken with potatoes and carrots, rice
Saturday: Baked honey-mustard chicken pieces with the last of the chicken, plus garlic bread and frozen corn for the children. There wasn't enough chicken for all of us, so my husband and I had some leftover ground beef taco meat, and mashed squash.
Sunday: Another giant chunk of pork butt, cooked until tender, then fried in its own fat; roasted potatoes; mashed squash; frozen green beans; and an apple crumble made with a bag of apples that were inexplicably soft and unappealing for fresh eating.
Monday: Bunless hamburgers--the ones I made awhile and go and froze just to have on hand for work days like this--bread and butter, frozen peas, more squash
Tuesday: I cooked the last few packages of soup bones from the cow we got, um, three years ago (definitely time to get rid of that) into stock, then pressure canned most of the stock and used the rest of that, plus the beef from the bones, to make a creamy green chili stew. And we had cheese.
Wednesday: Leftovers--half the family had tacos with ground beef taco meat, half had leftover pork fried with a jar of sauerkraut (hooray for summer cabbages!), and we all had frozen peas
Thursday: I had to work again, so more leftovers. Same tacos and peas for the same kids, and the rest of us had leftover green chili stew and cheese
Tonight: White beans (I think just cooked with onion, garlic, tomatoes), and lamb. Not sure what to do with the lamb yet. It's a front leg, which are a bit tough, so I'll probably stew it. And I guess rice, and I have some lettuce to use up, so a salad, too.
I am extremely lucky to have a bajillion grocery stores near me, plus several warehouse options. I have an embarrassment of riches in that department.
If only I could share with you.
https://www.recipetineats.com/greek-butterflied-lamb-leg/
I just saw this recipe and I thought of your post about the lamb leg. Has a lot of ingredients that are probably not sitting around your house, but maybe next time!
Thank you for thinking of me and my lamb leg. 🙂 Funnily enough, that IS what I almost always do with lamb: marinate it for many hours in olive oil, acid (usually vinegar because I always have it, but lemon or red wine is better if I have those), and a LOT of garlic. And lamb is most definitely way better grilled. And stronger-tasting meat is, for sure.
That recipe is for the back leg, which has a lot more meat and is much more tender than the front leg I cooked tonight. We have one more back leg in the freezer, and it is actually butterflied just like in that recipe. Mostly because the bones take up more room in the freezer. And I am terrible at carving a bone-in leg of lamb.
I love raost lamb and marinated butterflies leg of lamb; I cheat & buy it ready butterflied & marinated from the store & cook it in my George foreman grill. My favorite meal is leftover lamb chopped up & mixed with gravy toasted sandwiches - to me it perfection.
We like lamb shanks in the crock pot (my husband loves playing with spice rubs) or ground lamb for use in chocolate lamb chili, also in the crock pot. I bet the chili would work great with your lamb odds and ends!
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/68757/brys-chocolate-lamb-chili/
This is a VERY forgiving recipe (we leave out the beans since my husband prefers Texas-style chili) as long as you stay true to the spices. That said, I've found that 2 tablespoons of chili powder is plenty vs. the recipe's 3 1/2! The depth added by the chocolate comes more to the front that way.
I have broiled grapefruit before. It crystallizes the sugar and is quite delicious!
I was going to say the same!
I did manage to save a tiny bit on my grocery budget last week. I normally shop Fridays after work (We usually get off at 2:30 on Friday - We work 9 hour days, normally), but the health department called me and scheduled my husband and me in our town of residence for vaccines at 1:30 today After driving home for that, I doubt I'll want to drive back an hour and shop for groceries, then drive home again in one day. There is one regular, old and outdated grocery store, one discount market with little fresh food, and one Walmart where I live, as options for grocery shopping, and they carry none or very little organic, so I don't really shop where I live. We may be doing a few freezer challenge type meals until I make it back to my work town to shop, probably this weekend.
What we had - well, I don't have my last week's menu with me, but here goes:
I pressure cooked a beef roast and we had it twice. I cooked it with mushrooms and onions, and for one meal made gravy and cauliflower rice, plus another vegetable that I've forgotten, then for the other meal we had baked white potato for him, sweet potato for me, and, um, something else.
I cooked loin chops in the oven and we had honey carrots and sliced cucumbers.
We had hot dogs with "baked beans" which is really just seasoned canned beans, and sliced cucumbers and chips. We actually had hot dogs twice. I skipped the buns.
We had meatloaf with cherry sauce topping, steamed cabbage and.... another thing. Maybe pear sauce from the freezer.
Tonight is really up in the air, but we'll eat something, of that I'm sure.
Growing up, my sister and I were both responsible for cooking dinner one night a week. We had to plan it, give my mom a shopping list for ingredients and cook it. I think it was one of many important life skills imposed on me from a young age (so go Sonia!).
WWS: $78 various grocery stores + $16 fish monger; WWA:
Sat. pulled-pork banh mi with Asian-ish slaw (baguette recipe: https://lechefswife.com/baking-baguettes-for-beginners/)
Sun. Roasted salmon with red pepper coulis; farro with spinach wilted in; roasted broccoli
Mon. Italian sausage and spinach soup; garlic bread (see above)
Tues. Bodega-style bacon, egg & cheese sandwiches; salad
Wed. Shrimp with spicy creole sauce; rice; sautéed zucchini & red pepper
Thurs. Tortilla española; salad; prosciutto & marcona almonds
Fri. Thai red curry with tofu, zucchini, red peppers & carrots; rice
And look what a good cook you are now!
I made chicken with wine, tarragon, and tomatoes one night, and I'm going to make Jamaican oxtail stew tonight, over rice left over from the chicken. We also had takeout pasta from the pizza place this week and breakfast for dinner (scrambled eggs with pancetta, bacon, pancakes).
After 2 weeks of slightly-above-average spending, this week was really low. I've mapped out meals for the rest of January and think it'll end up being under budget by a decent amount and I'll have a really happy husband.
Saturday - Meatloaf, California-mix veggies, cut up fruit, macaroni and cheese
Sunday - Tacos for lunch, pizza for dinner
Monday - Sloppy joes... with a couple of side dishes I can't remember
Tuesday - Chili and cornbread. This was a huge non-takeout win because at 4:30 I still didn't know what we were having for dinner and I had to pick up my husband from work at 5. Hooray for a pantry meal!
Wednesday - A Thanksgiving turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, and corn
Thursday - Turkey and noodles
Friday - Burrito bowls using meat from the turkey
Did you know you can grill grapefruits.....
Cut them in half, sprinkle with sugar, and put them under the broiler for a couple minutes. The sugar caramelizes and sweetens the grapefruit.
You can also do that with a blow-torch if you're so inclined.
I bet that's good; kinda like grilled peaches.
I didn't have any grocery spending this week, due to my unusually large shopping trip to Aldi two Fridays ago! I could have replenished some fresh fruits, but we've been just fine eating the dried/canned fruits and frozen veggies we have plenty of.
Saturday- I had plans to go somewhere in the afternoon/ evening, so my husband heated up chicken pot pies for himself and the littles. My kids consider frozen pot pies a superb treat so I don't feel too guilty.
Sunday- belated Christmas/New Year's family gathering at in-laws' with out of town relatives. We brought a snack tray and my mother-in-law provided the meal.
Monday- long-overdue date night (because this was the only night that worked for my mom to watch the kids). We went out for sushi at an amazing small, local sushi restaurant we just recently discovered. Best sushi I've had in a long time!
Tuesday- sausage and potatoes in the crockpot, steamed green beans, beets
Wednesday- Baked macaroni and cheese casserole, steamed broccoli
Thursday- smorgasbord of leftovers
Friday- flatbread pizzas! Yay! I do love me some flatbread pizza. 🙂
This was a low spend week for us - only $65 spent on milk, cheese tortellini, garlic bread, and a few other odds and ends.
We ate...
Saturday - spaghetti & meat sauce made with home canned tomato sauce & home canned tomatoes
Sunday - I made a large pot of sausage & tortellini soup but I altered the recipe to use ground turkey from the freezer, home canned tomatoes & sauce, home grown peppers from the freezer and an assortment of frozen veggies. See the patter here? Eat. down. the. freezer.
Monday - Leftovers
Tuesday - Swedish meatballs, again from the freezer. Buttered egg noodles. Sauteed veggies. Cherry cobbler with cherries I froze last summer.
Wednesday - Baked cod, sauteed veggies, rice.
Thursday - leftovers.
Friday - Chicken and noodles, with chicken from the freezer. Homegrown green beans and pink eyed peas, also from the freezer stash. Yeast rolls. Peach cobbler with peaches I froze from last summer. This is a yummy comfort meal and I made a double batch so that we can take dinner & leftovers to some good friends who have gotten COVid. Front Porch dinner blessing for the win!
If anyone has any great recipes for using up okra please do share. I have about 8 gallons waiting for me in the freezer and we love it in vegetable soup and okra & tomatoes over rice but 8 gallons...my oh my!
Have a great weekend everyone! Stay Safe!
So what we do for Okra is take it sliced (we only have frozen most of the time up in New England) and coat it in olive oil and then coat in seasoned bread crumbs (not Italian seasoning but we season plain ones with paprika and garlic powder). Then bake and serve at breakfast with eggs.
I'm sure there was originally a recipe from somewhere but we just kind of know what to do/do our own thing now but you could maybe google it?
I shop ever two weeks, my day is Sunday Morning.
Saturday- at mom/dad, sister/bil made Fried Chicken, yellow rice and salad. I brought a cake
Sunday- To MIL to late celebrate her birthday, we did take out from a local Italian place. and ice cream cake for said birthday.
Monday- (got moved from last week) Fish Sticks and mac and Cheese, carrots
Tuesday- Chicken cutlets, butter noodles, corn
Wednesday- Chicken sh*t (its a chicken Casserole, with chicken, stuffing, soup) and we just called it that name and it has stuck.
Thursday-Home made Shrimp Scampi (with the rest of shrimp I made cocktail, so we will eat that up along the way)
Friday- Not sure yet, might be breakfast, might be something else. just not sure yet....
We have a BJ's Warehouse membership and quite like it. (Nearest Costco is more than 30 miles away. BJ's is "just" 25.) It's big, but not as big as Costco, so it is not exhausting to make the circuit. We know where the products we buy are located and get in and out in 15-20 minutes. Mostly we buy over-the-counter meds and personal care items. We buy our food at Food Lion and Aldi's. ~Sherry
That's a good point about Costco being exhausting. BJ's I can run in and run out in 30 minutes or less but Costco is second only to Ikea in terms of a huge time sink.
When my family had a Costco membership we would go and make a day of it, starting with lunch at the cafeteria, then going up and down the whole store. After we went there we would make the hour drive home just in time to start dinner so we'd go maybe once every six weeks tops. BJs I can go whenever I need something.
I have a BJ's membership and we had a Costco membership last year so I think I'm qualified to give my two cents. 😉
We ultimately kept our BJs membership and opted to cancel our Costco membership. The reasons for it were that Costco is an hour's drive away, it was always way too crowded and when Covid hit they put in so many restrictions that we weren't able to buy anything from their store and their online ordering was a joke.
The benefits of Costco were that their store brands are excellent (their red bottled detergent is great, though the scent is a bit too strong IMO) and their hot dogs are to die for.
But of course it's different for everyone. I still think shopping at Aldi and even Walmart is cheaper than either place. Costco still had more large quantity items like 50lb. bags of flour but I can obtain that via my local restaurant supply shop.
Anyway, here's my dinner for the week:
Sunday: Made a ham that I found in the bottom of my freezer. I also had mashed potatoes (made in the Instant pot!) and various vegetables.
Monday: A repeat of Sunday's dinner. The best thing about big cuts of meat is that you can eat on them for days.
Tuesday: Wife made a quiche out of the leftover ham. We also ate fruit and such with it.
Wednesday: My daughter enjoys the film Ponyo and decided she wanted Ponyo's ramen dish so we made it for her. She liked it but didn't want it again.
Thursday: Had zero energy or drive so I got out a package of hot dogs and cooked those and had a salad with it.
Friday: Taking a break and having some chicken dish. I'm not 100% sure what specifically. I think it might be sweet and sour chicken.
Sunday was supposed to be hamburgers and oven fries, but I was too tired to make oven fries. Plus we had chips and dip during football.
Monday was leftover chili because I had the day off and wanted to go to a store, but left too late. Picked up a bag of tortilla chips to go with it.
Tuesday was Rice & Beans. Close enough foe Taco Tuesday.
Wednesday all day I felt funny, so my husband picked up a sub for dinner that we split.
Thursday was Thai Peanut Sauce with Chicken and angel hair pasta.
Friday (tonight) is leftover rice and beans wrapped in tortillas and topped with cheese and salsa. Yummo.
We have both memberships Costco and BJ’s. BJ’s is much closer so we always get gas there. They also carry different products than Costco. Costco also has a lot more “specials” than BJ’s. But to us, they are about the same.
We had a continuation of last weekend's pasta-fest for dinner this week: leftover chicken-spinach casserole, mac and cheese, and leftover spaghetti with red sauce jazzed up with diced tomatoes, sausage, onions and mushrooms. Various fresh fruits and veg on the side, and I had vanilla yogurt for dessert while my husband ate pistachios.
I’m eager to read the BJs vs Costco post! My vote goes to Costco, just better quality all around. Maybe it helps that in our area, the Costco doesn’t have those weird spill-prone jugs. That might push the needle the other way. 🙂
Actually, bruleed grapefruit is yummy! Sprinkle halves with sugar and run under broiler just to caramelize.
Monday: breakfast burritos with French fries
Tuesday: Roasted veggies, chicken, and polish sausages with fresh bread
Wednesday: Brats with peppers, onions, and homemade buns
Thursday: Quinoa casserole (I made two, one as-written and one tweaked to use up some elderly kale and squash)
Tonight: leftovers
Very proud of my food usage this week. I managed to avoid food waste!
Yes, that sounds just fine! Roasting makes me envision 30 minutes at 450 degrees, though, and that would probably ruin grapefruits. Heh.
We only have BJ’s nearby, so that’s what we use. Our BJ’s has an in house butcher and I think the meat is excellent. And as far as I am concerned, the BJ’s brand dishwasher detergent pays for the membership. Their curbside pickup is excellent.
Dinners:
Take out when we were moving daughter back to school
Chicken soup
Basil Coconut Chicken Curry w/rice
BBQ pork chops with pierogis and roasted veggies
Cantonese Style Beef Chow Mein Noodles https://iheartumami.com/cantonese-beef-chow-mein/
That last one was good but made a lot of dirty cookware!
Does it mean I live under a rock if I admit I've never heard of BJs?
Mon--sausage/lentil stew with "quick quick bread"--both were new recipes and both turned out well. Used the leftover bread slices for French onion soup for lunch the next day for a date with hubby (while kids were in school--we don't get much time alone these days) and that made for a fun lunch date. Tues--I made Kristen's brinerade chicken recipe with roasted veggies. Wed--lasagna and spinach salad. Thurs--hubby made pulled pork sandwiches and cole slaw and squash. Friday--homemade mac and cheese. And some sort of veggie. Kids are off school today due to it being the end of the first semester and to combat cabin fever, we tried Chicago-style hotdogs from an eatery near my mom's assisted living that we have been scoping out. That's one small business that seems to be doing well, and after eating their food, I understand why! Not the healthiest fare, so it's a "sometimes" meal. 🙂
Well, it could just mean that you don't live in an area where there are BJ's stores!
Another vote for broiled grapefruit here. I'm not exactly sure of the technique because my husband made them, not me, but I think they were a Mark Bittman recipe. Every time he makes a Bittman recipe, we are happy.
Our spending has moderated a bit after me going a bit bananas when I started my produce and milk services around thanksgiving time. In my defense, we had not spent money on any groceries at all since June, so I was a bit over the moon with all the options and wanted to try them all out. Now I know what works for us and I'm aiming to keep the spending at or under 100.00/week.
I didn't write down what we ate this week, but I know we had foccacia on Friday, Sunday gravy on Monday ( just to keep everyone on their toes!), and there were also dishes of Swiss chard, rice and beans, mushrooms and pasta, and orange peppers stuffed with ground beef. I know that we had salad every night because that's my department, and I think we had a couple leftover nights too-we usually do and I never mind them. It feels like such a relief when I see there's enough to not need to think about a new dish for a day or two.
My mom has a BJs card and she put me on the acct and I never used it. Now that she gave it to my sister, I met her at the store to shop. Go figure. Granted I leave with tons of stuff to last a month or so but I never seem to get out of there w/o spending $200-400 bucks...I haven't decided whether I'm actually saving money yet although it seems it at the time.
What we ate:
Saturday: A basic spinach/egg soup with chicken sausage on the side
Sunday: we were going to make a stuffed cheese pumpkin but it appeared we held on to it longer than we should have and it was not great on the inside. So we took the same recipe and used a candy squash and honeynut squash instead and put it in a casserole dish.
Monday: battered/fried cod fish, sweet potato fries, and peas
Tuesday: We got a stewing hen and made chicken soup for dinner (roll on the side) and used the bones to make bone broth over night in the crockpot
Wednesday: Steak and cheese with mushrooms on homemade rolls with homemade onion rings on the side
Thursday: Garlic scape linguini and shrimp in a cream sauce with side broccolini and warmed sub roll
Friday: we will be making steak and cheese pizza with the left over steak from Wednesday
Hi, One difference between Costco and BJ's is that BJ's will take manufacturer's coupons which helps save more money. I do find most items are priced a little higher than Costco.
We are BJ's people. I live about 30 min from both BJ's and Costco (opposite directions), but BJ's carried our preferred brands of diapers & formula when the twins were little. I've visited Costco over the years and consistently find that the shopping experience is worse. Costco is much more crowded and folks are browsing, so you get stuck and it takes forever. BJ's is less crowded and it seems everyone has a list so they keep moving. Summer 2019 we spent a month someplace without BJ's so we decided to test a Costco membership. I did pretty thorough price comparisons. In our area, at least, when I found the same item at both it was the same price. The other reason I prefer BJ's is that they tend to sell grocery sized multi-packs vs giant containers of items. But, I understand some folks are quite committed to Costco brand items.
I did my BJ's run today so it was a big spending week, but I only go there every 4-8 weeks so it evens out. I did not buy potatoes or carrots as I still have a ridiculous quantity of those. I did buy lots of chicken.
Saturday - pork ramen
Sunday - beef roast (frozen from the pre Christmas sales), mashed potatoes, carrots, gravy
Monday - chicken pot pie, tossed salad (It was going to be green beans, but my Misfits Market box has apparently been at the shipping facility in NJ since last Sunday. I can't imagine it will be any good if/when it gets here so I've contacted them for a refund.)
Tuesday - half pork loin roast, roasted red potatoes, carrots, creamed spinach
Wednesday - tacos
Thursday - shrimp ramen
Pork loin roast is on such a ridiculous sale this week I also went back and got two whole ones late in the week when I needed a milk refresh. So, 2.5 whole pork loins at $1.47/lb which will be five meals for us plus some lunch leftovers each time.
WIS: $20. My daughter picked up the weekly special items for me, which includes large size frozen pizzas for under $3
I mentioned last week on Fri. I made "burger king" fish sandwiches on Aldi everything brioche rolls with lettuce, tomato, cheese; French fries, and fresh green beans.
Saturday: Sloppy Joe's with fries and green beans to use up the fresh rolls.
Sunday: Meatloaf, roasted potatoes, green beans (Had a pound)
Monday: Leftover
Tuesday: Didn't want to waste and husband is easy--meatloaf
Wednesday Mac&Cheese, salad. (I sat down to figure out how to reduce my mac&cheese recipe so there was enough for 2 with a little leftover for lunch.
Thursday: Hot pastrami sandwich lately. I have been wanting one lately. Thursday is childcare day for the 2 yr. old grandson; my husband was willing to go to the local meat market; and with a quick, easy meal, I could attend my Thursday night zoom Kundalini yoga class (finally).
Wednesday when I had a mess in the kitchen, I made the ATK thin crust pizza dough, which is suggested to be kept in the refrigerator 24 hrs. - 3 days.
Today we saw a local church is offering Valentine's Day Dinners for 2, which will be prepared by a local restaurant for pick up. We do not ever go out for Valentine's Day, but we are thinking about this because it will help 2 entities for a reasonable price. The historic 1800s church needs to raise a lot of money for some needed historic renovations/repairs. They usually do a turkey dinner fundraiser in the fall with auction & raffles, all the food prepared by church members but they could not do it this year. Instead this same restaurant did the same type of event (order and pick up) and there was plenty of food (with leftovers).
For some reason I'm not getting your thankful Thursday's email. I do however get it on facebook. Just wondering if it's just me.
I have not been receiving them either.
Hmm, that's weird! I did send it out late today; did you not get one this afternoon?
Hi Kristin—I also didn’t receive this post, and it’s my favorite (although I love all of your blog posts). I was alerted by these comments and went to your site in search of it.
Well, nuts. I wonder what has happened!
Did you get the other blog posts this week?
Hi Kristen! I just did a search of my email, and I haven’t received any posts since 1/8/21. Just an FYI for you. I’ve been going to your home page to find everything.
Nor me!! Have to search them out now!
What I spent - $25 on produce box
What we ate -
Sat - steak, baked potato, broccoli cheddar soup, cheddar garlic biscuits
Sun - burgers & fries
Mon - lasagna, salad, French bread
Tue - smothered chicken enchiladas, Spanish rice
Wed - leftover lasagna, sautéed mushrooms, leftover cheddar biscuits
Thu - leftover chicken enchiladas & Spanish rice
Fri - fried cod, sweet potato fries, sautéed Brussels sprouts
Team Costco here, but I really do wonder if I the savings is worth the membership. I made two large batch meals for the week:
Lunch: Jamaican beef patties, coconut rice, green beans.
Dinner: Chickpea soup and sourdough bread (some nights included a simple green salad or fruit for a little variety, lol)
You totally should try roasting (baking actually) grapefruits. Slice in half and top with brown sugar which you can broil for a couple minutes to carmelize. One of my favorite childhood treats!
My grandmother used to roast grapefruits under the broiler. She poured a little red cherry juice on top and then served them hot with a half cherry as garnich. They were delicious--
I always struggle to remember, even though the meals were quite recent. 🙂
We had:
-Orange sesame chicken (my 13 year old made it, and it was delicious) with rice
-Warm taco slaw
-Grilled chicken kebabs & rice
-Chicken burrito bowls (chicken in the crock pot with salsa, corn, beans & spices). You add it to rice, then top with cheese, guacamole & other fixings as desired
Leftovers of all of the above, and one night I made coleslaw to go with the grilled chicken & keep things interesting
Did you get your chicken burrito bowl recipe from Budget bytes? Sounds like the one I make from there and it's delicious and super simple to throw together.
love that your 13 year old made the delicious orange chicken!
Another vote for BJ's. I live in Southern New England, so we have them here. We also have a nearby Costco, but it is *always* super crowded. I like BJ's a lot better--and we fill up our cars with gas when we're there, which saves a bit also. If I had a Costco membership I would never go. I think they have some nice products, but I'd never go because of how crowded it always seems to be. Too stressful for me!
Costco’s are so good about getting you in and out quickly. Even with the parking lot looks full, shopping is pretty painless.
I do not live near BJs. The Costco alternative here is Sams Club chi, besides the tire service, cannot hold a candle to Costco.
We are:
Pork roast with roasted veggies (made by son)
Homemade-ish wonton soup
Chicken and rice with peas
Taco soup
Cheater chicken enchiladas with refried black beans (made by daughter)
BBQ sausage with Mac and cheese and green beans (made by husband)
We go out to eat once a week so that makes 7 dinners
We spent entirely too much on groceries but still less than even fast food would cost away from home so I’m considering it frugal enough ♀️
We've been 'stimulating the economy" by eating take-out on the weekends. Its mostly so I get a break from cooking, though... This week we ate:
Monday - Herb Crumb-topped Cod, stuffed mushrooms
Tuesday - Salmon, chopped salad
Wednesday - Bean and Spinach Soup, garlic toast
Thursday - Porcupine Meatballs, butternut squash
Friday - Brown Sugar Chicken, baked potato, peas
Saturday - Free Choice all day
Sunday - Cowboy Chicken over rice, zucchini
It was a hit-or-miss menu this week, so I am looking forward to some delish BBQ or food trailer tacos on the weekend!
Hi Gina I had to Google Porcupine Meatballs.... I am relieved to know no porcupines were harmed in the making of this dish!
It sound delicious and I shall make it this week!
Curious as to what a porcupine meatball is...
I think they are meatballs that have rice in them; the rice sticks out kind of like a porcupine's needles do. I've seen recipes for them in older cookbooks that my mom had.
That's interesting. I might have to try it sometime!
Monday: Fish for dh, I ate with my parents
Tuesday: Corn Chowder https://cravinghomecooked.com/corn-chowder/
Wednesday: Chicken Street Tacos from Joanna Gaines https://magnolia.com/street-taco-recipes/
Thursday: Leftover Chicken Tacos for dh, pizza with my parents for me
Friday: Leftover Corn Chowder (Need to start cooking for 2, not an army!)
Saturday, Fish again for him, Leftover Tacos for me
Sunday, Steak for him, Leftover Pizza for me
We got BJ's for a month for free a couple of years ago. I was not impressed, but I am pretty used to Sam's and I go there before 10, when there are no crowds. I just heard that The Villages is getting BJ's, so that one will be pretty close to us. The closest Costco is Orlando and I have no desire to drive to Orlando just to go there, so Sam's it is.
Here we go -- a lot like previous weeks . . .
Friday -- Treat night -- takeout from a little Mexican restaurant -- flautas for me, steak for B, and ice cream for all
Saturday -- Big salad mix with chicken
Sunday --Tofu/miso brown rice buddha bowl with broccoli, carrots, homemade asian pickles
Monday -- Turkey burgers, leftover rice, steamed broccoli
Tuesday -- Homemade chicken soup from thighs, using up potatoes, carrots, etc.
Wednesday -- Husband's actual birthday -- he wanted Pollo Loco ($4 with his app and coupons); I made a big salad
Thursday -- Leftover Chicken soup and big salad
Tonight -- using gift card to get husband's favorite steak (take out) $0 and hopefully delish
Happy Friday
Saturday - pizza after our hike
Sunday - chicken stir fry: https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/spicy-chicken-stir-fry-with-celery-and-peanuts we have made this several times this year (with carrots in place of the celery). the sauce is so delicious, and the chicken becomes so tender from the cornstarch!
Monday - Mushroom Lasagna with a cucumber salad
Tuesday - pasta with roasted eggplant and tomatoes
Wednesday - a bunch of leftovers from prior days
Thursday - leftover pasta and a frozen pizza
Friday - we ended up not eating dinner at all, after getting home at an odd time
I had four (!!) lunch engagements this week. That meant I got away with cooking much less, because the leftovers that are usually eaten at lunch were eaten for later dinners.
No BJ's here, so I don't know what they offer, but our biggest savings at Costco come from buying gasoline there, buying car tires and batteries (car and regular). We save on some on the food and household goods we buy, but we are a small family and can't store big packages of frozen or refrigerated food. We do buy paper goods, coffee, and some supplements (i.e. fish oil) regularly and some things that don't need refrigeration. We have two Costco's in close proximity (the one in my town at one time was the busiest Costco in the entire country!) so convenience is a factor as well.
My daughter and I were driving my husband's car almost 700 miles from San Diego to Northern California when the light came on for tire pressure. I had my daughter Google Costco and found 1 just five miles from where we were (even though it looked like we were in the middle of nowhere!). Because the tires were purchased at a Costco, they did a free thorough evaluation of the tires and were able to reassure us all was well. If there had been a problem they would have replaced a tire at no charge. That alone made the price of membership worth it to me. Also in California, where the price of a gallon of gas can approach $4, a 30 to 40 cent per gallon discount is huge.
We are BJs members! Besides a recent restructure of the aisles I like it. This is a sure sign you are getting old- when you get upset that they moved an item 2 aisle over. - ha ha
Monday- no school for the kids so they got to cook. They made Chicken Cordon Bleu
Tuesday- hmm maybe something with pork?
Wednesday- Kielbasa and potato casserole
Thursday- Egg Frittata with cheese, ham, onion and roasted red pepper. Hubby has an egg sensitivity so when he is not home for dinner we almost always have eggs.
Friday -Meatball Subs- I had a partial jar of sauce that would not be enough for a regular pasta meal but needed to be used up. Enough sauce to coat the meatballs!
I was just complaining with my mom about grocery stores rearranging the aisles. WHY? WHY do they have to do that? LOL!
Ooh yes, that does make it super confusing, especially if you've been shopping there for a long time.
That is one good thing about Aldi; they rarely rearrange their aisles!
When I worked at a local co-op that insisted on rearranging things every handful of years, I asked them the same thing. They said market research had shown that rearranging periodically means that people take longer to shop, which leads them to finding new products and making more purchases than they would have otherwise. The staff's logic that "No, that leads to irritated customers and frustrated staff, because no one knows where anything is, not even the people who work here" didn't take, alas. 😛
Our weekly produce box includes citrus from Arizona in the winter (we're in Colorado so it's closer than FLA, and who knew Arizona grew citrus?) and there was a recipe for broiled grapefruit the other day! Now, was it amazing? It was fine. The broiling made it juicier...so I guess you can definitely roast grapefruit if you want 😉
I actually kept track of our meals this week!
LAST Friday: Our "bubble" friends came for dinner and we had pan roasted chicken, roasted veggies and a big salad. One of our friends has quite a few food allergies, so we have to keep it simple and delicious!
Saturday - Pasta with tomatoes and chicken/mozzarella meatballs (from Sam's), salad, the last of some homemade breadsticks
Sunday - Creamy mustard chicken (Eating Well magazine), mashed potatoes and celery root (from the produce box), salad - this was great because it used up lots of bits of produce since I added a few mushrooms and the last of some arugula to the chicken dish.
Monday - Pasta leftovers from Saturday
Tuesday - chicken leftovers from Sunday with the addition of roasted delicata squash (produce box)
Wednesday - pizza with a new crust (flour, baking powder, salt, Greek yogurt). I liked the crust but I don't know that it's much better than my usual pizza dough recipe. Salad.
Thursday - grilled salmon, roasted veggies (used up a turnip from the produce box), butternut squash rolls, and you guessed it: salad!
Friday - one pot chicken piccata pasta and salad
We get a huge bag of mixed, aquaponic salad greens in our produce box each week and also usually get a bag of some other greens...Tat Soi, Bok Choy, Chard, etc. We love salads so it makes it very easy to add them to almost every meal.
Saturday-meatloaf, mac & cheese, butter beans
Sunday-mac&cheese, green peas, fruit salad
Monday-meatloaf, fries, butter beans, corn
Tuesday-beefy fried rice, ciabatta bread, fruit salad
Wednesday-last of the mac & cheese, peas, applesauce
Thursday-spaghetti, salad, bread
Friday-spaghetti, kale salad, bread
Kristen, we have a Costo membership just for my husband's hearing aids and their batteries. We saved thousands on the aids, the audiology service is wonderful, and the batteries are far cheaper there.
But we don't shop there because the store is always very crowded and our family is small.
Years ago, we had a Sam's Club membership that basically paid for itself every year in the savings on dog food, cat food, cat litter and detergent, but that was back when we had robustly healthy dogs who did not require special diets.
We caught a sale on wonderful rolls at the supermarket, so there are lots of sandwiches in this week's meals:
Saturday -Philly cheese steak ( using fresh shaved sirloin) sandwiches with cheese peppers and onions. Garlic brussels sprouts, corn and peas.
Sunday - Dressed up albacore tuna subs with chips.
Monday - Shepherds pie
Tuesday - Roast chicken, rice and green beans.
Wednesday - Leftovers.
Thursday - Hot chicken sandwiches with beans and cranberry sauce.
Friday - Pulled pork sandwiches with mac and potato salads.
I love menus!
Saturday - Dungeness crab cakes since dear friends dropped off 3 crabs for my husbands birthday gift. We will freeze some of the crab meat and I’m going to attempt making crab stock for future use.
Sunday - enchiladas con carne
Monday - Herbed white bean and sausage stew
Tuesday - Broccoli cheddar soup
Wednesday - Husband’s Birthday Dinner - prime rib, hasselback potatoes and Caesar salad
Thursday - smoky lentil stew
Friday - homemade pizza and a movie
Oooh, I love crab cakes. It's been a while since I've had one.
What lentils do you use for the stew? Do you have a recipe link? I have a bag of black lentils here from a meal kit I got last year, and I never used them. I'm trying to figure out what I want to do with them!
Lentil are amazing. You can use them like meat in tacos and in soup with onions, carrots and celery.
Oh your post makes me miss Maryland! We moved from there in 2017. No BJs or RF in the deep south! Don't forget BJs takes manufacturer's coupons!
Wait, how far south are you?
Wikipedia says there are BJs stores in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Delaware, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Ohio, and Michigan.
So it looks like as long as you hug the coast, you can find a BJs all up and down the east side of the U.S.!
But maybe you are inland in the south.